When to Plant Melons in Sandwich, IL

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Sandwich you should be able to determine when it's possible to plant melons.


Planting Calendar for Melons

Frost tolerance for melons: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

It's not a good idea to plant melons until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant melons
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant melons
Probably not a good time to plant melons

The earliest that you can plant melons in Sandwich is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant melons and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your melons may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your melons indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Sandwich. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Sandwich may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Sandwich you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your melons if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Sandwich

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-15°F
Highest Expected Low-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Sandwich

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Sandwich.